A national study found Ohio ranks in the top five states for “conversion therapy,” a debunked method seeking to “convert” children who identify as LGBTQ+.

Ohio joined Texas, Minnesota, Missouri, and Pennsylvania as the states “with the largest number of identified licensed and unlicensed practitioners,” according to The Trevor Project, a national organization that studies and seeks to prevent suicide by LGBTQ+ youth.

Conversion therapy is the name used by supporters for efforts to change sexual orientation and/or gender identity, which is often religiously based, but also does not have the support of the general medical community.

“Unlike actual therapy, sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts are not based in science, medicine or fact,” the study from the Trevor Project stated.

In 2022 research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics, researchers found that the harms associated with “conversion therapy” amount to an estimated $9.23 billion economic hit to the country, and called the practice “ineffective and detrimental.”

The study also stated the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry are among groups that oppose the concept.

“For already vulnerable youths, it may exacerbate distress or incite guilt, shame and self-hatred and is associated with devastating mental and physical health consequences, including new or increased depression, anxiety self-harm, suicidal ideation, nightmares, gastrointestional distress, sexual dysfunction, relationship problems and isolation,” researchers stated in JAMA Pediatrics.

The most recent Trevor Project study showed that more than 1,300 practitioners purporting to conduct “conversion therapy” exist in 48 U.S. states and D.C.

“As conversion therapy is increasingly underground and conducted in secret, with many practitioners not publicly advertising their services in a way that can be documented, this data likely under-represents the prevalence and reach of conversion therapy practitioners across the country today,” the study stated.

Ohio is reported to have at least 72 practitioners, with nearly 3 in 5 practitioners in the state “holding active unrestricted licenses to engage in the mental health profession.”

Included in the number of practitioners were those holding a “ministerial or religious” position.

“Ministerial practitioners work in a variety of ways, including within religious organizations solely devoted to conversion therapy and ‘ex-gay’ theology, within broader ministries dealing with sexual issues and addiction that treat being LGTBQ as mental or spiritual ailments, and within church counseling offices that include pastors and priests,” the study explained.

A vast majority of the ministerial or religious practitioners were considered Christian, with the second-most coming from Catholic denominations.

The study asked that policymakers, from legislators to state licensing boards and accreditation agencies, “act with urgency to bring us closer to a future that is free from sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts.”

Several cities in Ohio have moved to ban the practice in their own areas, but as a statewide standard, “conversion therapy” remains legal.

One Democratic-led bill was introduced in 2020 to make it illegal, but the bill never saw movement before the end of that General Assembly term.

The same sponsor, state Rep. Mary Lightbody, D-Westerville, introduced a similar bill in June 2023. It has been referred to the House Committee on Public Health Policy, but has yet to receive a hearing.

The most recent bill, House Bill 220, would ban licensed health professionals from “engaging in conversion therapy when treating minors” and requires state licensing boards to sanction those practicing the methods.